A sketch, not to scale. The dotted line is the walk in from Maidagin crossing.
The eight watches of today
- 12 AM
- 3 AM
- 6 AM
- 9 AM
- 12 PM
- 3 PM
- 6 PM
- 9 PM
Brass bar: darshan open. Bell: aarti. Vermilion line: the time now. Times are in Indian Standard Time.
Darshan timings
Darshan hours
- General darshanEvery day5:00 AM to 9:30 PM
5:00 am to 9:30 pm as listed on the Varanasi administration's portal kashi.gov.in. Several travel sites say the sanctum closes in the afternoon, from about 1:30 pm to between 3:00 and 4:30 pm, for bhog and rest. Hours are extended on festivals.
Aarti and daily rituals
- Mangala aartiEvery day4:00 AM to 5:00 AM
Start time from travel sites only; the end time is taken as the 5:00 am opening for darshan. Some Hindi sources say the mangala aarti is at 5:00 or 5:30 am. Please confirm at the temple.
- Bhog aartiEvery day1:00 PM to 1:30 PM
From travel sites only. One site gives 12:00 noon instead. The sanctum is reported to close for the afternoon after this aarti.
- Sandhya aartiEvery day8:00 PM to 8:30 PM
8:00 to 8:30 pm on two travel sites; a third gives 7:00 pm. A shayan aarti late at night, at 11:00 pm or midnight, is also listed by these sites.
Timings change on festivals, eclipses and special days. Confirm at the mandir before you travel.
See all timings
In the lanes of Bhaironath, near Vishweshwarganj in the old city of Varanasi, stands the temple of Kaal Bhairav, revered as the Kotwal, the guardian and chief magistrate, of Kashi. Tradition holds that no one may stay in Kashi without his leave, and that a pilgrimage to Kashi Vishwanath is complete only after his darshan. Only the silver face of the deity, garlanded with flowers, is seen through the door of the small sanctum.
Read the full accountAt a glance
- Deity
- Kaal Bhairav, a fierce form of Shiva
- Revered as
- Kotwal (guardian and magistrate) of Kashi
- Image
- Silver-faced image; the dog is his vahana
- Known for
- The black protective thread and the blessing with the peacock-feather danda
- Scriptural mention
- Kashi Khanda of the Skanda Purana
- Present structure
- Maratha period; an inscription is reported to date it to 1817 (Baji Rao II). Other accounts differ
- Location
- Bhaironath, Vishweshwarganj, about 1.5 km north of Kashi Vishwanath
- Main festival
- Bhairav Ashtami (Kaal Bhairav Jayanti)
Kalabhairava Ashtakam
देवराजसेव्यमानपावनांघ्रिपङ्कजं
व्यालयज्ञसूत्रमिन्दुशेखरं कृपाकरम् ।
नारदादियोगिवृन्दवन्दितं दिगंबरं
काशिकापुराधिनाथकालभैरवं भजे ॥ १॥I worship Kalabhairava, the lord of the city of Kashi, whose pure lotus feet are served by Indra, the king of the gods. He wears a serpent as his sacred thread and the moon on his head, and he is full of compassion. Narada and the other yogis bow to him, and the sky itself is his only garment.
Read the whole Ashtakam with its meaningPuja and seva
Booking here only reserves your place. You pay at the mandir counter; this website takes no money.
- Ask about this puja
Darshan and the danda blessing
After darshan of the silver face of Baba, a priest taps the devotee with a bundle of peacock feathers, the danda of the Kotwal. It is believed to remove illness, fear and the evil eye.
- Ask about this puja
Raksha Sutra (black thread)
A black thread, known as ganda or Bhairav raksha sutra, is blessed at the temple and worn on the wrist or around the neck for protection. It is often taken home for children and family members.
- Ask about this puja
Tel and Deep offering
Mustard or sesame oil is offered to Baba and a lamp of mustard oil is lit, usually with black sesame and flowers. The offering is made especially on Sundays, Tuesdays and Bhairav Ashtami.
Festivals through the year
- Krishna Ashtami of Margashirsha (Aghan), November or December
Bhairav Ashtami (Kaal Bhairav Jayanti)
The appearance day of Kaal Bhairav and the biggest festival of the temple. Baba is given a panchamrit bath and a special shringar, and devotees offer oil through the day. For some years a very large cake was cut as Baba's birthday (601 kg in 2018); news reports in December 2024 said the cake-cutting had been stopped. The Krishna Ashtami of every other month is kept as Kalashtami.
- No single fixed date was confirmed; Bhairav Ashtami, Sundays and Tuesdays are the favoured days
Ashta Bhairav Yatra
A pilgrimage to the eight Bhairavas who guard Kashi: Ruru at Hanuman Ghat, Chand at Durga Kund, Asitang near Mrityunjay Mahadev, Kapali at Laat Bhairav, Krodhan at Kamachha, Unmatt, Bhishan at Bhut Bhairav and Samhar at Gai Ghat. The round ends with darshan of Kaal Bhairav, the Kotwal.
- Held once a year in winter; in 2025 it fell on 26 December
Annual Shringar and Annakut
Baba is dressed in special clothes and fifty-six kinds of bhog are offered, among them fruits, sweets and liquor. After the aarti the doors are opened and darshan continues late into the night. A rudraksha shringar is also among the temple's yearly observances.
Eight Bhairavs
Kashi is guarded not by one Bhairava but by a ring of them. The Kashi Khanda of the Skanda Purana (chapter 72 in G. V. Tagare's translation) says that eight Bhairavas are stationed in the eight quarters to protect the city, and names them as Ruru, Chanda, Asitanga, Kapali, Krodhana, Unmatta, Samhara and Bhishana. It calls them dispellers of great fear who should always be worshipped in Kashi. The local tradition retold by writers on the city is that the Goddess created them, together with nine Shaktis, after she had slain the demon Durga.
- Ruru BhairavHanuman Ghat, near Harishchandra Ghat (house B 4/16)
- Chanda BhairavDurga Mandir, Durga Kund (house B 27/2)
- Asitanga BhairavMrityunjay Mahadev temple complex, Daranagar (house K 52/39)
- Kapali Bhairav (Laat Bhairav)Laat Bhairav, Kazzakpura, Alaipur (Jalalipura)
- Krodhana Bhairav (Adi Bhairav)Kamakhya Devi temple, Kamachha (house B 31/126)
- Unmatta BhairavDeora (Devra) village on the Panchkroshi road; also worshipped as an image in the Batuk Bhairav temple, Kamachha
- Bhishana Bhairav (Bhoot Bhairav)Bhoot Bhairav, Kashipura, near Jyeshtheshwar (house K 63/28)
- Samhara BhairavPatan Darwaza, Gai Ghat (house A 1/82)